BRAZIL PRIEST EXCOMMUNICATED OVER SUPPORT FOR GAYS

SAO PAULO: A Catholic priest in southeastern Brazil was excommunicated on Monday after publicly resigning from his duties to protest against the church’s opposition to homosexuality. “Father Roberto Francisco Daniel can no longer celebrate the divine rite because he has been excommunicated,” a statement from the Bauru diocese in Sao Paulo state said. The 48-year-old priest, who renounced his church duties over the weekend, was accused of “heresy” and “schism” by the church hierarchy in the world’s biggest Catholic country.